The overall goal of this 2-year pilot project is to utilize interdisciplinary strategies to determine the prevalence and type of neurodevelopmental impairment in PHACE syndrome, a rare vascular syndrome, and to rapidly translate discovery into clinical care guidelines that will identify at risk infants so early intervention can be initiated. Infantile hemangioma is the most common benign tumor of infancy, with an incidence estimated between 4-5%. A subgroup of patients with infantile hemangiomas exhibits additional associated structural anomalies of the brain, cerebral vasculature, eyes, aorta, heart, and chest wall in the rare neurocutaneous disorder called PHACE syndrome (OMIM 606519). PHACE refers to Posterior fossa anomalies, Hemangioma, Arterial lesions, Cardiac abnormalities/aortic coarctation, and abnormalities of the Eye. Affected children have multi-organ involvement, and an increasing number of cerebral, cerebellar, and cerebrovascular anomalies are being described; however, the significance of these neuroradiologic findings is not known. As the investigators' neonates with hemangiomas have grown into young children, neurodevelopmental impairment has become more evident, even among patients without MRI evidence of stroke or structural brain anomalies. Some infants develop progressive cerebral arterial disease leading to a moyamoya-like vasculopathy and ischemic stroke. An interdisciplinary research project studying brain and cerebral vascular imaging in concert with neurological, psychological, behavioral, neurodevelopmental, and quality of life outcome measures has never been conducted. Diagnostic and management guidelines are also lacking. The investigators' long-term goal is to develop medical and/or surgical therapeutic interventions that improve the overall health of children with PHACE syndrome. This novel project constitutes the first study of the most devastating feature of PHACE syndrome: the neurodevelopmental sequelae.

We will use rigorous phenotyping strategies to establish a cohort of 30 patients with PHACE syndrome 4-6 years of age, and collect neuroimaging studies and patient tissue and DNA samples to enhance an existing tissue repository to facilitate future studies, such as validation of biomarkers.

Aim 2) Determine the prevalence and describe the spectrum of neurodevelopmental impairment in a cohort of patients 4-6 years of age with PHACE syndrome.

Given the multiple risk factors for neurodevelopmental deficits in PHACE patients, we propose a comprehensive assessment of a cohort of patients 4-6 years of age, this age range represents a critical period, as it is the time that most children enter the formal educational system and it allows for a more thorough evaluation of neurodevelopmental skills. Upon completion of this 2-year study we expect to have immediate impact on clinical care by identifying specific deficits in this cohort. Once identified and quantified, we will publish the data with clinical guidelines for patient management including age and frequency of neuroimaging, frequency of neurologic evaluation, and age and utility of neurodevelopmental assessment. We anticipate that these guidelines will identify at risk infants and early intervention can be initiated, resulting in improved functional outcomes. In addition, this data will provide a cost-effective functional outcome methodology that can be used for clinical trials and to validate biomarkers identified in this pilot study.

We hypothesize that certain risk factors including, but not limited to, genotype, hemangioma size, hemangioma location, cerebral anomalies, cerebellar anomalies, and cerebrovascular anomalies predispose patients to progressive vasculopathy. We will determine risk factors and identify biomarkers for progressive cerebrovascular disease. Based on this information we will establish guidelines for serial and diagnostic cerebrovascular imaging and develop a method of risk-stratification that will allow for early clinical prediction and intervention of long-term neurodevelopmental prognosis. Specific Aims

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

4 Years to 6 Years

Genders Eligible for Study:

Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Sampling Method:

Probability Sample

Study Population

Children between the ages of 4-6 years who fulfill the diagnostic criteria for PHACE syndrome will be contacted for enrollment.

Parents able and willing to travel to our center (Medical College of Wisconsin) for evaluations.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients with known genetic disorders in addition to PHACE syndrome;

Patients unable to undergo adequate MR imaging due to pacemaker or other MRI-incompatible implant(s); or

Non-English and non-Spanish speaking patients will be excluded due to interpreter-related inconsistencies in neurocognitive testing. Clinical Evaluation: A standardized electronic data collection form will be designed. Demographic data, clinical -

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Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01018082

Locations

United States, Wisconsin

Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53226

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical College of Wisconsin

Investigators

Principal Investigator:

Beth Drolet, MD

Children's Hospital and Health System Foundation, Wisconsin

More Information

No publications provided

Responsible Party:

Beth Drolet, Professor and Vice Chairman of Pediatric Dermatology, Medical College of Wisconsin